"Hear me? If Yuxin likes anything, I'll buy it for her," Li Chonglou said lightly, leaning against the doorframe.
Jin Tang's outstretched hand froze in front of Jiang Yuxin.
His expression was extremely awkward; he couldn't retract it nor could he continue to hold it out.
These crystal tinkling bracelets were a treasure he had acquired after spending nearly a year's income and calling in every favor.
They were limited to one pair per province inland, making their rarity unimaginable.
The reason he was presenting them to Jiang Yuxin in front of Li Chonglou was to show off.
After all, in his mind, with Li Chonglou's capabilities, it was impossible for him to obtain something of this caliber.
But who would have thought it would turn out like this?
It was certainly that Jiang Yuxin was kind-hearted and didn't want to publicly hurt a pitiable person like Li Chonglou.
But if he couldn't give them to her, he would lose face.
Jin Tang gritted his teeth and said, "Li Chonglou bought them? How much are they worth?"
"I'm afraid it's not even jade, just a piece of marble!"
"My tinkling bracelets, you can't buy them even with money; how many rich people and socialites yearn for them in vain."
As he spoke, the awkwardness on Jin Tang's face turned into condescending superiority. "Yuxin, you don't need to care about people like him; there's nothing to be embarrassed about."
Women disliked persistence.
He was too thin-skinned back then and didn't dare to persistently pursue Jiang Yuxin, which allowed low-class people like Li Chonglou to succeed.
After three years of training outside, his skin was no longer as thin as before.
As long as Jiang Yuxin softened her heart, his goal would be achieved.
"Take it away!"
Jiang Yuxin didn't want to fall out, but seeing Jin Tang so insensible, her pretty face turned cold, and her voice lost all warmth.
At the same time, she waved her jade-like hand with disgust.
Although she didn't hit Jin Tang, she startled him.
To the extent that his grip slipped.
Crack!
The pair of limited-edition crystal tinkling bracelets from Van Cleef & Arpels, one pair for the entire province, shattered into countless pieces on the ground.
Jin Tang's expression completely froze.
He looked as if he were wooden.
For this pair of bracelets, he had gone to great lengths and spared no expense to obtain them.
He wanted to please Jiang Yuxin, but it turned out like this.
His heart bled.
Even Jiang Yuxin's pretty face turned pale.
She hadn't expected Jin Tang to drop and break them. Since they were limited edition, they must have been very expensive.
With her current financial situation, it would be difficult to even compensate for them.
"It's just a man-made glass product; don't worry," Just then, Li Chonglou's voice reached her ears as he comforted her. "Van Cleef & Arpels doesn't lie about the materials used when manufacturing their products."
"This tinkling bracelet model is indeed made of crystal in its authentic form."
"But this one he has is a high imitation worth only a few dozen yuan. We can afford to compensate for it."
At some unknown time, Li Chonglou had already picked up a shard and walked over to Jiang Yuxin.
His expression was full of amusement.
This tinkling bracelet model was indeed a limited edition from Van Cleef & Arpels.
But Jin Tang was wrong; it wasn't one pair per province, but one pair limited nationwide.
In today's era of prevalent comparison and the emergence of countless wealthy individuals, it was impossible for Jin Tang, with his financial resources, to buy that authentic pair.
Coupled with the broken shards, it was even more certain.
This was a high imitation.
These words, when heard by Jin Tang, were no less than two resounding slaps to his face.
He had spent his entire year's income for this, and yet in Li Chonglou's mouth, it was only worth a few dozen yuan.
How would Jiang Yuxin see him at this moment?
Jin Tang's pale face instantly turned purple.
His eyes blazed with anger, wishing he could bite Li Chonglou to death. "Nonsense! How could I possibly buy a fake?"
"Do you even know what Van Cleef & Arpels is? People like you don't even qualify to touch such international luxury brands!"
The item was already broken, and he couldn't let Jiang Yuxin pay for it.
But he absolutely could not lose to Li Chonglou.
"Although the main component of crystal and glass is silicon dioxide, naturally occurring and man-made are completely different," Li Chonglou said calmly, holding the shard in his palm and presenting it to Jin Tang. "Look closely with your dog eyes. There are extremely fine bubbles inside this thing; natural crystal doesn't have them."
"Besides, Van Cleef & Arpels, international luxury brands, are all designed to fool idiots."
"Although wealthy people don't care about cost-effectiveness, turning a piece of white crystal worth a few yuan into jewelry worth tens of millions by adding some design."
"This in itself is a form of commercial fraud!"
"It's just that their packaging is better, so I'm not surprised you bought a high imitation."
When it comes to high-end luxury, what can compare to antiques?
What limited edition worldwide pairs, lacking historical heritage and cultural value, only possess immense brand premiums.
The key is that those nouveau riche really fall for it.
And these people, in the eyes of the magnates in the antique circle, with its rich heritage, are simply fools.
His words left Jin Tang's face a mix of green and white, and his eyes lost all trace of their earlier confidence.
He gritted his teeth, glared fiercely at Li Chonglou, and then turned and left.
As he turned away, the malevolence in his eyes was as thick as a substance. "Li Chonglou, if I don't make you get out of the Jiang family, I swear I'm not human!"
After he left, Jiang Yuxin sighed softly, "You shouldn't have embarrassed him like that. He worked for my dad for five years."
"The company is at a critical juncture now; unity is more important than anything."
"I'm just a small secretary; I can't manage the company's affairs. As for me, you and my mother are more important than anything," Li Chonglou replied indifferently and walked out of the office.
He left Jiang Yuxin stunned, motionless for a long time.
Her heart felt both a little angry and sweet as honey.
This feeling, which she had never properly experienced, made her linger for a long time.
The entire afternoon, Li Chonglou familiarized himself with his duties at the company, planning to continue as a secretary until the cooperation with Lu Shi was officially on track.
When it was time to get off work, Jiang Yuxin was still working overtime.
He could only leave by himself.
He didn't return to the hospital but arranged to meet Wang Dehai.
He asked him to organize a gathering of his friends who were nouveau riche and had antiques and curios they wanted to sell. He would acquire anything genuine.
These nouveau riche, who affected an air of refinement, had collected many small items when they had money.
Now that the economy was bad, upon hearing that Wang Dehai wanted to buy genuine items, they all wanted to bring them out to exchange for money.
This was exactly what Li Chonglou wanted.
After all, Desheng Hotel was to be converted into a themed hotel and needed items to lend prestige.
Driving the car originally assigned to Xu Lie, Li Chonglou felt a mix of emotions.
With his bones broken, Xu Lie was so badly injured; he would likely need a good period of rest.
Learning martial arts would have to be postponed indefinitely.
Fortunately, Hengmen had been dealt with, and his senior sister had returned to Qin Zhou. There shouldn't be any major problems for now.
Recently, he would focus all his efforts on developing the hotel and the live-streaming platform.
By the time he arrived at Desheng, it was almost seven o'clock.
The lobby was bustling with people.
It seemed business had picked up in the last few days, but it was still far from its peak.
Li Chonglou didn't alert the staff. As he reached the second-floor staircase,
he saw Wang Dehai coming out of a private room, holding a wrinkled old man by the arm with a respectful attitude.
Li Chonglou had a slight impression of this old man; he seemed to be from the Qin Zhou Calligraphers Association.
So he didn't greet Wang Dehai and directly pushed open the door of that private room and walked in.
Inside the private room.
The banquet had not yet been served, but nine people were already seated.
There were men and women, most of them around forty or fifty years old, and a pair of them looked about Li Chonglou's age.
Everyone's gaze fell upon him.
"Li Chonglou?" The man about Li Chonglou's age suddenly frowned and called out his name.
Immediately, a hint of hostility appeared on his face. "It's been many years, and you haven't changed."
"What? Did you come to the wrong door?"
Hearing this, Li Chonglou scrutinized the man for a moment, but he really couldn't remember who he was.
After all, for him, decades had passed.
People who weren't particularly important had been worn away by time.
"You don't remember me?" The man, seeing that Li Chonglou didn't respond, narrowed his eyes and snorted unhappily. "Back in high school, we talked a lot, didn't we?"
As soon as he finished speaking, others asked, "Young Master Xiang, is he your high school classmate?"
"Heh, I don't have classmates as timid as him. He was just a pitiful wretch that people could trample on, my source of amusement," the young man named Xiang said proudly.
As he said this, Li Chonglou's pupils slightly contracted.
He remembered.
In high school, he and Chen Liuqi shared the same fate and were often bullied.
At that time, Jiang Yuxin couldn't stand it and spoke up for them a few words. Unexpectedly, this drew the retaliation of a school bully who liked Jiang Yuxin.
And this school bully was Xiang Wenbin, the one looking at him with disdain.
Li Chonglou hadn't paid attention to such trivial matters.
Therefore, he hadn't remembered him immediately.
"Xiang Wenbin, you've changed quite a bit over the years," Li Chonglou replied calmly.
"I heard from those classmates that you married Jiang Yuxin?" Xiang Wenbin's tone turned cold, a sharp glint in his eyes, and he sneered, "That's pretty impressive, kid. That beating in school didn't teach you a lesson, and you even managed to woo my goddess."
"Becoming a son-in-law in the Jiang family, your reputation among your classmates must be extraordinary."
Boom!
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire private room erupted in laughter.
"He's a gigolo? What era is this? People are still becoming live-in sons-in-law, how shameless!"
"Young people nowadays are mostly lazy and prefer leisure. They're far worse than us old folks, but Young Master Xiang is an exception."
"I thought he was Young Master Xiang's classmate, but he's a parasite who eats soft rice. What qualifications does someone like him have to enter our room?"
Several bosses who were on good terms with Xiang Wenbin spoke without any reservation, their mockery naked and undisguised.
Li Chonglou didn't care about these cold remarks.
Their educational background was inherently low; they were nouveau riche who struck it rich by following the trends of the times. Their mentality was even inferior to Wang Dehai's.
What kind of pearls could come from a dog's mouth?
Even Xiang Wenbin, he was too lazy to bother with.
After all, when he was in high school, he was indeed a timid person who didn't understand anything. Many people couldn't understand that meek, hesitant demeanor, which was actually very inviting to beatings.
As the saying goes, the kind are bullied by the wicked; society is just that realistic.
So, it was in the past, and he didn't take it to heart at all.
Therefore, he walked to the table on his own and sat down opposite Xiang Wenbin.
"Who told you to sit down?" At this, Xiang Wenbin's face immediately changed. Li Chonglou's reaction, in his eyes, seemed like he was deliberately acting tough and humiliating him.
He slammed the table with a bang.
He stood up and yelled, "You little wimp, can't you understand human speech?"
"I was just joking with you, and you have no awareness. Do you want me to count to three and get out, so we don't have to see you?"